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Topic: To move or not? (Read 2533 times)

After you finish reading this post, I'm fairly certain y'all are going to think my husband and I are flaky.

My husband works swing shift. 12 hour shifts that flip flop from day to night each week. 36 hours one week, and 48 the next. One week is day shift, the next is night shift. It has it's pros and cons.

Since I got my promotion, I'm working full time hours 2-11 (sometimes later). Good because it's more money, but bad because I have way less time to hang with my kid, clean, cook, etc.

Dilemma: My husband is applying at a new company. it would be day shift only (swing shift is killing him). 10 hour days, something like 7-5 or so. Last I heard, he'd have a day off during the week, and work one weekend day (there is a possibility of OT somewhere in there. I work with a guy who works at the new place). So there's a potential 48hrs every week. The pay is nearly the same. He'd make approximately $70 less per month. No biggie. Also, we'd have to find a babysitter/child care for about 16-20 hours per week. This is going to eat into our budget. I figure the cost to be between $300-$600 per month depending if it's a babysitter or in home center.

Pros to the new job: It's only a few minutes away from my job. That means we could move up that way and save on gas. And we'd have very short commutes or could possibly even bike.Another pro: he would be able to go back to school. He can't right now with his schedule. He could do online courses but he thinks he wants to go back for a skilled trade. Can't do those online...

Cons: We were going to move into the trailer, pay my mom back asap, and live rent/mortgage free. If we move to the trailer, we would both be driving an hour round trip, each. He'd hit 5:00 traffic and I would have a half hour drive late at night, which I'm not too fond of since I'm exhausted after work. And every now and then we have to stay really late....like midnight or later. Rarely, but it does happen and I will HAVE to stay. No questions. Also, my mom was going to watch our son a lot, which is great, except...she's still not really healthy (recovering from leukemia still...lots of side effects from the treatments) but we've had no real choice. Our son doesn't get diaper changes as frequently as he should and when he spends the night over there, he doesn't get a bath. Another con: we'll have either rent or a mortgage for a while if we move closer to his new job (if he gets it...), which doesn't leave a lot of money left over for Roth's and investments.

I'm pretty torn on what to do. We should know in the next couple weeks if he gets offered the new job. We're staying put for now until we see what happens with his job.

How much would your rent or mortgage be if you rented a new place near your jobs? Those are some serious commutes.. if you're a YMOYL person, is the savings on rent outweighing the amount of time you're not actually living your life? Plus the ability to go back to school could really make a difference in your lives, if your husband has the time to pursue it. If he doesn't have the time to pursue it, will his earning power and lifestyle ever change? It sounds like your career is getting better but the hours aren't.

It sounds like your mom might not actually be up to the task of watching your son. You don't mention how old he is but if he's still in diapers, that is a LOT for a person recovering from chemo to handle.

I know this isn't really the style of this forum, but when you are in the thick of things and trying to make lifestyle changes, don't beat yourself up for not being able to invest a ton of money or having to spend money that could be saved by sacrificing your quality of life. Remember that Mustachianism is as much about enjoying those things in life that make life worthwhile as it is about saving your money. And having to drive an hour to work, sacrifice time at home with your kid, and depend on an ill relative to watch your kid may not be worth the money you save.

Getting off the swing shift is worth a lot. Could you still make it okay? If you'd be comfortable lying your bills, it would be a major stress-reducer for hie to get off that shift. If you'd struggle to stay afloat, maybe not so much.

I don't think I'd drive an hour each way for free housing, especially if it's both of you. That's four hours a day or twenty extra hours a week between the two of you.

How much would your rent or mortgage be if you rented a new place near your jobs? Those are some serious commutes.. if you're a YMOYL person, is the savings on rent outweighing the amount of time you're not actually living your life? Plus the ability to go back to school could really make a difference in your lives, if your husband has the time to pursue it. If he doesn't have the time to pursue it, will his earning power and lifestyle ever change? It sounds like your career is getting better but the hours aren't.

I'm figuring rent would be in the $700ish ballpark. A mortgage would be a little cheaper, but then add in taxes and it would probably be around that same figure. My current commute is actually 23 minutes, and my husband's is right about 30 minutes. So, a tad longer for me and the same for him if we lived at the trailer. Our commutes would get slashed to 5-10 minutes depending on what we found if we moved closer to my (and his if he gets it) job. My husband will actually have time to go to school IF he gets the new job. Or really any otehr job that has regular hours. Which, living at the trailer rent/mortgage free will help us pay for in cash and let him have a slightly lower paying job to get the better hours to attend school.

It sounds like your mom might not actually be up to the task of watching your son. You don't mention how old he is but if he's still in diapers, that is a LOT for a person recovering from chemo to handle.

He's almost 2. But I should mention that my dad is there after he gets off work to help. So, she's not totally taking care of him alone all the time.

I know this isn't really the style of this forum, but when you are in the thick of things and trying to make lifestyle changes, don't beat yourself up for not being able to invest a ton of money or having to spend money that could be saved by sacrificing your quality of life. Remember that Mustachianism is as much about enjoying those things in life that make life worthwhile as it is about saving your money. And having to drive an hour to work, sacrifice time at home with your kid, and depend on an ill relative to watch your kid may not be worth the money you save.

Thank you for that. It's good to hear. But I ran some figures today and living in the trailer we will be able to save approx. $1700 (possibly more) per month. If he gets the new job and we move, we would only have about $750ish left over every month. We would end up having to pay for child care + rent/mortgage. That is a GIANT difference.

Getting off the swing shift is worth a lot. Could you still make it okay? If you'd be comfortable lying your bills, it would be a major stress-reducer for hie to get off that shift. If you'd struggle to stay afloat, maybe not so much.

I don't think I'd drive an hour each way for free housing, especially if it's both of you. That's four hours a day or twenty extra hours a week between the two of you.

We have 0 debt.

It didnt' really dawn on me until earlier today and I mentioned it above, It'd add maybe 10 minutes to my commute and his would stay about the same.

I'm figuring rent would be in the $700ish ballpark. A mortgage would be a little cheaper, but then add in taxes and it would probably be around that same figure. My current commute is actually 23 minutes, and my husband's is right about 30 minutes. So, a tad longer for me and the same for him if we lived at the trailer. Our commutes would get slashed to 5-10 minutes depending on what we found if we moved closer to my (and his if he gets it) job. My husband will actually have time to go to school IF he gets the new job. Or really any otehr job that has regular hours. Which, living at the trailer rent/mortgage free will help us pay for in cash and let him have a slightly lower paying job to get the better hours to attend school.

OK, that does clear things up. I was also thinking that gas costs would cancel out a lot of that savings but it looks like it might stay the same.

Thank you for that. It's good to hear. But I ran some figures today and living in the trailer we will be able to save approx. $1700 (possibly more) per month. If he gets the new job and we move, we would only have about $750ish left over every month. We would end up having to pay for child care + rent/mortgage. That is a GIANT difference.[/b]

I guess I was also confused because the original question combines two different issues: what life would be like if he got the new job, and what life would be like if you moved. If he gets the new job and has the time to go to school, it seems like it would be worth the annoyance to live rent free at the trailer and pay for schooling in cash. That will pay off in the long run, especially if his schooling is relatively short.

You also mentioned a mortgage being a little cheaper - don't forget about building up equity. But if you're not sure how long you'd stay it's not a wise choice.